Josh D’Amaro – CEO of The Walt Disney Company

Josh D’Amaro – CEO of The Walt Disney Company

Josh D’Amaro is an American business executive and the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. He assumed the role on March 18, 2026, succeeding longtime Disney leader Bob Iger. A Disney employee since 1998, D’Amaro built his career across resort operations, marketing, commercial strategy, and international business before leading Disney Experiences, the company’s parks, resorts, cruise, and consumer products division.

His appointment marks an important moment for Disney. The company operates across film, television, streaming, theme parks, cruises, games, merchandise, and other forms of entertainment. D’Amaro’s background is rooted in the part of that business where customers interact directly with Disney’s characters, stories, and brands.

As head of Disney Experiences, he oversaw a major expansion of the company’s global attractions and vacation offerings. He now leads the wider organization at a time when Disney must balance investment in physical experiences with competition in streaming, evolving entertainment habits, and the opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence.

D’Amaro’s leadership will be measured by how effectively Disney connects its creative franchises with profitable businesses, delivers experiences that justify their cost to customers, and develops new ways for audiences to engage with its stories.

Who Is Josh D’Amaro?

Josh D’Amaro is the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, one of the world's most recognizable entertainment and media businesses. Before becoming CEO, he served as chairman of Disney Experiences, a division responsible for the company's theme parks, resorts, cruise operations, vacation products, and consumer products.

D’Amaro joined Disney in 1998 at Disneyland Resort. Over the following decades, he held positions across finance, business strategy, marketing, commercial operations, and resort management. He later became president of Disneyland Resort and then president of Walt Disney World Resort before taking charge of Disney Experiences in 2020.

This progression gave him experience in several areas of Disney's business. Resort leadership requires executives to manage large workforces, customer satisfaction, infrastructure, safety, and day-to-day operations. At the same time, Disney's business depends on creative development, intellectual property, capital investment, and the ability to turn entertainment franchises into experiences people want to purchase.

D’Amaro's career has connected these operational and commercial priorities. His experience also made him a familiar figure within Disney before the board selected him to succeed Iger.

Disney announced his appointment on February 3, 2026, following a unanimous board decision. The transition became effective on March 18, 2026.

 

Early Life and Education

D’Amaro earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University. His academic background gave him a foundation in business, while his subsequent career at Disney developed his experience in operations, marketing, and commercial leadership.

Publicly available company biographies focus more on his professional journey than on his early personal life. Rather than relying on unverified personal details, his career at Disney provides the clearest account of how he developed as an executive.

He joined the company in 1998 at Disneyland Resort, beginning a career that would eventually span nearly three decades.

Building a Career at Disney

Early roles and international experience

D’Amaro's early Disney career included positions in several business functions and markets. He worked with Adventures by Disney, sales and travel operations at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, finance for the global licensing division of Disney Consumer Products, and business planning and strategy development at Disneyland Resort.

These roles exposed him to different parts of Disney's commercial model. Travel operations involve coordinating services and customer experiences, while licensing connects Disney's intellectual property with products and business partners. Finance and strategy require executives to evaluate costs, opportunities, and business performance.

The variety of his early assignments helped him develop a broad understanding of Disney's operations beyond any single attraction or resort.

He later served as senior vice president of commercial strategy for Walt Disney World Resort, with responsibilities that included resorts and transportation operations. He also held vice president roles involving Disney's Animal Kingdom and Adventures by Disney.

These positions combined commercial planning with the practical demands of running complex customer-facing businesses.

President of Disneyland Resort

In 2018, D’Amaro became president of Disneyland Resort in California. The position placed him in charge of a major destination with theme parks, hotels, entertainment, retail, and dining.

During his tenure, Disneyland continued developing attractions based on major entertainment franchises. These included Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the Marvel-themed Avengers Campus.

Such projects illustrate an important part of Disney's business strategy: extending stories that audiences know from movies and other media into physical environments. Customers do not simply watch a story; they can enter a themed land, interact with attractions, purchase related merchandise, and spend time in a resort built around the experience.

Delivering these projects requires coordination among creative teams, engineers, operations managers, designers, and commercial leaders. It also requires substantial capital and careful planning to minimize disruption to existing operations.

D’Amaro's time at Disneyland gave him experience overseeing this blend of creative development and large-scale resort management.

President of Walt Disney World Resort

In 2019, D’Amaro became president of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The role involved a much larger operational footprint, including four theme parks, water parks, hotels, transportation, entertainment, and related facilities.

Walt Disney World also operates with an exceptionally large workforce. The business depends on thousands of employees working across attractions, guest services, food and beverage, accommodation, transportation, maintenance, and other functions.

Managing such a destination involves more than launching new attractions. Leaders must maintain service standards, coordinate daily operations, manage costs, and keep the experience consistent for visitors.

During D’Amaro's tenure, Walt Disney World continued major projects and preparations for the resort's 50th anniversary in 2021. Developments included Disney Skyliner transportation, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, and Disney's Riviera Resort.

His experience running Walt Disney World helped prepare him to lead Disney Experiences as a global business.

Leading Disney Experiences

In May 2020, D’Amaro became chairman of Disney's parks, experiences, and products organization, which was subsequently known as Disney Experiences. He took the position during the COVID-19 pandemic, when travel restrictions and public-health measures disrupted theme parks, cruises, and tourism.

The pandemic created extraordinary challenges for Disney's experience-based businesses. Resorts faced closures and operating restrictions, travel demand changed sharply, and the company had to adjust staffing, guest policies, and reopening plans.

D’Amaro's role involved navigating those pressures while preparing the division for recovery and future growth.

Over time, Disney Experiences became a major contributor to the company's financial performance. Disney reported approximately $36 billion in revenue from the segment in fiscal 2025, making it the company's largest business segment by revenue.

Its activities extend well beyond theme parks. The division includes Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Disney Institute, Storyliving by Disney, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Disney Consumer Products.

D’Amaro also oversaw the development of new digital experiences, including Disney's partnership with Epic Games to create a Disney universe within Fortnite.

The breadth of the portfolio demonstrates the strategic importance of Disney Experiences. It allows Disney to generate revenue from its stories and brands through vacations, attractions, merchandise, licensing, and digital interaction.

The Strategy Behind Disney's Experiences Business

Turning intellectual property into experiences

Disney owns or controls an extensive collection of entertainment franchises, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. Its parks and resorts provide a way to extend those properties beyond films and television.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Avengers Campus, and World of Frozen are examples of this approach. They create physical environments that connect attractions, architecture, food, merchandise, and entertainment to familiar fictional worlds.

The commercial opportunity is clear: successful franchises can support demand across multiple products and experiences. However, each new attraction must also provide value on its own. Customers expect quality, reliability, and experiences worth the price of admission or a vacation.

D’Amaro's work at Disney Experiences placed him at the center of this strategy.

Expanding the global vacation business

Disney has invested in new cruise ships, resort offerings, themed lands, and attractions. Expansion can increase capacity, introduce Disney to new audiences, and create additional opportunities for customers to spend time with its brands.

The company has also announced plans for a Disney theme park destination in Abu Dhabi. Such a project would extend Disney's physical footprint into a new market, although its ultimate commercial performance will depend on development, execution, tourism demand, and operating economics.

Expansion also creates financial risks. Theme parks, resorts, and cruise ships require significant upfront investment and ongoing maintenance. New destinations must attract enough customers to justify those costs.

D’Amaro's experience overseeing the division's expansion will be relevant as Disney determines how to allocate capital across its global portfolio.

Connecting physical and digital entertainment

Disney's franchises reach audiences through films, streaming, games, merchandise, and real-world experiences. The company has opportunities to make those interactions more connected.

Its partnership with Epic Games is one example. Rather than limiting Disney's intellectual property to a single game or product, the partnership aims to create a broader digital environment where fans can engage with Disney stories.

This strategy could help Disney reach younger audiences and create new forms of participation. But digital platforms also require ongoing investment, product development, and the ability to compete for users' time.

D’Amaro's challenge as CEO is to ensure these digital initiatives complement Disney's existing strengths rather than distract from the quality of its core entertainment and experiences businesses.

Becoming CEO of The Walt Disney Company

Disney's board announced on February 3, 2026, that D’Amaro would succeed Bob Iger as CEO. The appointment followed a closely watched succession process at a company where leadership transitions have significant consequences for creative strategy, investors, employees, and the wider entertainment industry.

Iger had returned to the CEO position in 2022 after previously leading Disney from 2005 to 2020. His tenure included major acquisitions, the expansion of Disney's streaming services, and significant changes to the company's portfolio.

D’Amaro became CEO effective March 18, 2026. Disney also announced that Dana Walden would become president and chief creative officer, with responsibilities that support the company's creative direction.

The appointment placed D’Amaro in charge of a business that includes Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. His responsibilities therefore extend beyond the parks and resorts business where he built his reputation.

As CEO, he must oversee the relationship between creative production, distribution, sports, streaming, physical experiences, and consumer products. Each business has different economics, competitive pressures, and customer expectations.

His appointment signals confidence in a leader who understands Disney's brands and customer-facing operations. It also creates expectations that he can apply that experience across the wider company.

Official source: Disney announces Josh D’Amaro as its next CEO.

Josh D’Amaro's Leadership Style

D’Amaro's public leadership profile emphasizes creativity, innovation, operational execution, and the people responsible for delivering Disney's experiences.

His career has required him to work with creative teams while also managing commercial results. A theme park attraction must reflect the creative vision behind a franchise, but it must also be safe, reliable, financially sustainable, and capable of serving large numbers of visitors.

That balance is central to Disney's operating model. The company sells more than rides, rooms, or merchandise: it sells experiences built around stories and emotional connections. Maintaining those connections requires investment in design and storytelling as well as consistent execution.

D’Amaro has also emphasized the importance of employees, whom Disney calls Cast Members in its parks and resorts. Their work directly affects how guests experience the brand, from arrival and transportation to attractions, dining, and accommodation.

As CEO, he will need to extend that people-focused approach across Disney's different businesses while ensuring the organization can adapt to technological and competitive changes.

Major Challenges Facing Josh D’Amaro

1. Maintaining growth without overspending

Disney Experiences has benefited from major investments in parks, resorts, cruise ships, and attractions. But these projects can require years of planning and large financial commitments.

D’Amaro must balance future growth against the cost of building and maintaining physical assets. Expansion is most valuable when it generates sustainable demand and strong returns rather than simply increasing the size of the business.

2. Competing in streaming and entertainment

Disney's CEO oversees businesses that face different competitive pressures. Streaming companies compete for subscriptions and viewing time, film studios compete for audiences and box-office revenue, and sports businesses compete for rights, distribution, and viewers.

D’Amaro's direct experience is strongest in parks and experiences, so his wider leadership will depend on effective collaboration with executives who have deep expertise in entertainment, sports, and distribution.

The company must continue developing compelling content while managing the costs and economics of delivering it to audiences.

3. Managing changing consumer spending

Theme park vacations and cruises can be expensive. Travel costs, household budgets, exchange rates, and broader economic conditions can influence demand.

Disney must preserve the premium elements of its experience while offering customers enough value to justify the cost. Guest satisfaction, service quality, attraction availability, and the overall vacation experience will remain important factors.

4. Using AI without losing creative distinction

Artificial intelligence could affect entertainment production, customer service, personalization, games, and internal operations. It also raises questions about intellectual property, creative control, labor, and the quality of AI-generated content.

Disney has opportunities to use technology to improve operations and deepen customer engagement. But the company's long-term advantage depends on its characters, stories, and creative talent.

D’Amaro must help determine where AI can support those strengths and where human creative judgment remains essential.

5. Coordinating a complex global company

Disney's businesses span different countries, regulatory environments, customer groups, and operating models. A decision that works for a theme park may not apply to streaming or sports.

Effective leadership requires clear priorities, accountability, and cooperation among business units. D’Amaro must align these organizations without losing the specialized expertise that makes each one work.

What Josh D’Amaro Could Mean for Disney's Future

D’Amaro's appointment creates an opportunity for Disney to strengthen the connection between its creative franchises and the experiences customers purchase.

One likely area of continued focus is global expansion. New attractions, cruise ships, resorts, and themed environments can extend Disney's reach, but they also require disciplined investment and careful execution.

Another is the relationship between digital entertainment and physical experiences. Disney can use its films, games, characters, and stories to build stronger connections with audiences across multiple platforms. The challenge will be to create products that customers genuinely value rather than treating every franchise as an opportunity for another transaction.

Technology will also shape the company's next phase. AI, digital platforms, and more advanced attractions could improve operations and open new forms of entertainment. D’Amaro's leadership will be tested by how well Disney uses these tools while protecting its creative identity and customer trust.

Ultimately, his success will depend on more than the performance of theme parks and resorts. He must lead Disney's full portfolio, support strong creative output, manage costs, and maintain a coherent strategy across businesses that operate in very different markets.

Why Josh D’Amaro Matters

Josh D’Amaro is an important figure in the entertainment industry because his career connects operational leadership with one of the world's most valuable entertainment brands.

He spent decades working within Disney before taking the CEO role, including leadership positions at Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, and Disney Experiences. That background gave him direct experience with the company's physical destinations and the customer relationships they support.

His challenge now is to apply that experience across the entire organization. Disney must continue creating stories that resonate with audiences while adapting to changing viewing habits, technological advances, and new competition.

D’Amaro's leadership will influence how Disney invests in its parks, cruises, entertainment, and digital businesses. It will also shape how the company brings its intellectual property to audiences around the world.

For business leaders, his career illustrates the importance of understanding both the customer experience and the operational systems behind it. For Disney, he represents a new chapter in the company's continuing effort to connect storytelling, technology, and global growth.

Josh D’Amaro: Key Facts

Category	Details
Full name	Josh D’Amaro
Current position	Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company
CEO effective date	March 18, 2026
Previous role	Chairman of Disney Experiences
Joined Disney	1998
Education	Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Georgetown University
Previous executive roles	President of Disneyland Resort; President of Walt Disney World Resort
Industry	Entertainment, media, tourism, and theme parks
Major areas of responsibility before becoming CEO	Theme parks, resorts, cruise line, vacation products, consumer products, and related experiences
Board role	Member of The Walt Disney Company's board following his appointment
Predecessor as CEO	Bob Iger
Official leadership profile	The Walt Disney Company

Summary

Josh D’Amaro became CEO of The Walt Disney Company on March 18, 2026, after nearly three decades with the company. His career included leadership of Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, and Disney Experiences, the division responsible for Disney's parks, resorts, cruises, and consumer products.

As CEO, he leads Disney's wider portfolio of entertainment, sports, streaming, and experiences businesses. His priorities include connecting creative storytelling with technology, expanding global experiences, and maintaining strong customer relationships while managing the cost of growth.

D’Amaro's leadership will be judged by his ability to protect Disney's creative identity, strengthen its financial performance, and help the company adapt to a rapidly changing entertainment landscape.